Reverb: Reverb is created when soundwaves from any sound source reflect off surfaces in a room causing a large number of reflections to reach your ear so closely together that you can’t interpret them as individual delays. Simpler: Tiny echoing decays that become more pronounced in a larger space.
Simplest Definition: Echoes in a tin can.
Video Explanations:
Video: Reverb vs. Delay Sounds
Types of Reverb:
Plate Reverb: One of the very first artificial means of replicating reverb was the plate reverb. This was actually a roughly 4×8-foot steel plate suspended in a frame and stretched extremely tight. A speaker driver attached to one end of the plate would make it vibrate. These vibrations would travel through the plate similarly to soundwaves through a room, and be picked up at the other end of the plate by a microphone that worked by capturing vibration instead of soundwaves in the air. The tighter the plate, the longer the decay.
Spring Reverb: Just like Plate Reverb, Spring Reverb was created mechanically by sending the signal electrically through springs instead of a plate. Many amplifiers with built in reverb use spring reverb. It has a distinct, splashy sound all it’s own and has become synonymous with surf music due to the heavy amount used.
Spring Reverb vs. Plate Reverb Demonstration
Effect Pedal Examples:
Plate Reverb Pedal: Catalinbread Talisman
Spring Reverb Pedal: Anasounds Element with Reverb Tanks
Common Internal Components:
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